"Years ago when I used to work at ESPN they signed an NBA contract," said Cowherd. "And ESPN was paying the NBA $400 million a year. It was reported as I drove to work that day, they [ESPN] had signed with the NBA for $1.4 billion."

It was that day that Cowherd said he realized ESPN would never be the same and started looking for another job.

"You cannot pay four times for the house what you paid for the house last year," said Cowherd.

Cowherd said he doesn't expect things to get better for ESPN.

"It's awful," said Cowherd. "It will happen annually for the next decade."